L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Intense Issey Miyake 2007

A very good fragrance, way above its price tag, that stood the test of time.
L'Eau d'Issey PH Intense starts woody spicy with all the citric notes balancing each other perfectly, adding in background a great cardamom-nutmeg combo, very well integrated. When the middle notes take the stage, you can feel a warm-spicy smell (lotus, saffron, cinnamon), joining naturally the remaining of fresher top notes. After a few hours, it keeps some of the dark freshness on my skin, becoming more woody-incensy and showing an air of elegant man.
Very good value for the money and pretty long lasting (8-10 hrs). My personal rank 8.5/10, recommended.

Imagine the notes in this fragrance like a queue of people waiting to get into a club (the club in this case being your nose lol), and they are crowding the entrance, Incense and the base notes are like that hot chick with her entourage that will cut right in front of the queue to get in after a 5 minute wait.

This isn't a citrus fragrance, this is an incense fragrance with little resemblance to the original LDPH, a bit dusty/ashy but super classy, blind buy worthy and absolutely recommended, love it.

This perfume is a fairly light and fresh incense, and, when I say light, I do not mean a scarce or weak aroma, no, I mean that the incense in this fragrance, despite being the protagonist, is executed to create a refreshing and quite versatile aroma, far from the treatment, of this note, which I am used to in oriental, where they are generally dense and opulent aromas.

The beginning is very citrus and fresh, with an outstanding yuzu very energizing, but lasts a blink, because, at the moment, the incense is incorporated into the mixture, providing a balsamic and smoky touch to the citrus freshness of the beginning, creating a fresh aroma , sweet and smoky, but equally elegant and fine, I like it. Then, the citrus fruits go down in intensity and the spices are incorporated, highlighting the cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, feeling the spicy aroma, but in a clean and fresh way, very balanced and really beautiful. Gradually these spices decrease in intensity, and the aroma begins to sweeten and feel woody. Amber and benzoin give him that resinous and balsamic sweetness, and the papyrus has to be in charge of that woody sensation, which he would not know how to define, but that does not get to smell of wood, is rather a hint of it, but equally beautiful, masculine and elegant. The truth is that I did not expect such a fresh and versatile incense, a young and cheerful aroma, executed very elegantly.

In my skin the duration has been good, between 6 and 7 hours with a moderate wake, not bad. A very versatile aroma that you can wear at any season and time, and also for any occasion.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, but ironically in this one, and not that long ago actually... I didn't appreciate this one for what it was. The simple fact was that my skin and incense didn't get along. They still don't, but I just stopped caring. I've heard that's the mark of a true fragrance enthusiast. Hate what everyone else loves and learn to love what you hate. Or, you know, just stop hating. That'll do too.

Anyway, when L'eau d'Issey Intense hit my skin the first 5 times, all I got was the smell of a dry potato covered in spice, sitting patiently in the waiting room of a dentist's office, waiting for its turn to get a root canal. To put it plainly, it was harsh, chemically and generally unpleasant. True, a whisper of the original was still in there somewhere (the part I enjoyed), but markedly overshadowed by the strong and piercing spices, camphorous notes and earthy tones. Ostensibly, the mind sees what it wants; and surprise surprise, a moderately virgin nose didn't "get it."

But I wasn't the only one. Every time I passed the giant box on the discount rack, it appeared to be the only one people didn't want. A stack of about 4 or 5 waited in vain for a new home, like a sad lineup of ugly or misbehaved orphans in grey garb, cold, ashen faces, and an air of general despair. So like any other sensible person, I left them alone. But they kept showing up, and every time I went back for a sniff, the same thing happened - I pulled back in apparent revulsion, not knowing that, in time, my subconsious would gradually become accustomed to the experience...

And then one day, I couldn't help myself. The discount rack became discounted once more and I capitulated. Full bottle. Spray on the arm, spray on the other arm. And what did I smell?? The same goddamn thing. But what's this? A thin underlying sweetness in the background? A clear yuzu rind and cardamom? A stack of papery cardboard? Somehow, it seems that my mind became bored with the 'same old' and began searching for something new. And boy did it find it.

Shortly thereafter, I hit the gym for a proper test and what transpired was a revelation. Of sorts. As my body began to heat up, the sweetness came out more and more, eventually balancing the incense note perfectly, to where, in the drydown, the sense of a honeydewed yuzu was rather prominent, dancing to the tune of a quasi-oriental.....aquatic? Yes indeed, the density of the composition was unmistakable. Compared with other citrus-heavy fragrances, this stuff is a cinderblock that crushes toes. And funnily enough, some people pick up on that piercing cement-like quality rather early on. To me, it's the sweetness from the benzoin that saves it. It seems that JCB knew what he was doing after all.

But the bottom line is that L'eau d'Issey Intense is simply more interesting than most freshies out there; and for an intellectual who suffers from chronic boredom, it's a breath of spicy air - with decent longevity and projection to boot! Sure, it may have taken me over a year to understand the stuff, but from what I've read, that seems to be par for the course. Unless you adore spicy potatoes that is. And I don't. But apparently I'm learning.

So all in all, I'd say that by today's standards, L'eau d'Issey Intense is a wonderfully crafted fragrance. Dense, honeyed yuzu and incense to stand apart from the crowd in virtually all occassions, joining the ranks of two of my favourite flankers - Sport and L'eau Bleue d'Issey, both of which feature distinctly unique twists on the original. And one more important thing - the sillage is far more appealing than smelling it up close - something that us enthusiasts have difficulty grasping with our incessant nose digging. It's no shame by the way. We all get there in the end. It just took me a bit longer than most. Hashtag girlfriend approved. May the force be with you.

Wow is this slept on.

Sharp, smoky, citrusy, aldehydic opening that segues into a lush, spicy, floral, and succulent base. This has a very exotic vibe to it even though it is not necessarily very far out of the mainstream and smells quite similar to the OG. But there's just something about this that feels like and expensive. Another reviewer accurately described it as a kind of luxurious incense. It gives me the same feeling of this cactus blossom incense I once had - it was fresh but had a deep succulent aura to it (pun intended) that made it irresistible. Same here - this is a balance between light and dark. There's dry spices, dusty papyrus, and smoke, but also brightness, wateriness, airiness. It does have an Egyptian vibe, as someone else mentioned - I sense lotus-filled pools against a backdrop of desert and the coolness of a stone chamber, an island in the heat. This is a very impressive scent that smells mysterious, refined, opulent, and sexy. My girlfriend immediately was all over me after unboxing this. There is something magnetic to it that keeps me sniffing again and again. Can't speak too much on performance as of yet but initial wearing is very strong.

Get it while it's still around and cheap. Worth the $30 I paid for sure.

9/10